


Jigsaw

by seki



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 03:48:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1372798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seki/pseuds/seki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's sometimes sensible to consider *all* the possible consequences before agreeing to perform a favour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jigsaw

Yosuke'd started dating Yukiko, early in their last year of high school.

He hadn't really been _serious_ when he'd asked her out for a date -- it had been sort of a lame joke, because what he really had meant was that he wanted a study partner, not a girlfriend -- and he'd been totally blindsided when she'd blushed and looked to one side and said that maybe they could do that, yes. It was amazing -- somehow he'd scored a date with one of the hottest girls in school.

It was even a semi-decent date, if he did say so himself. He phoned up Yu, in kind of a panic over the whole thing, and Yu'd told him to take her out somewhere nice, maybe into Okina, to the cinema or out for karaoke. And not to let her go near alcohol, like he needed reminding. Thankfully, there was a sappy love movie playing at the cinema and Yukiko agreed to go; she started holding his hand during the last twenty minutes, which made up for the previous _forever_ of boredom at how dreadful the movie was. Even if he kept worrying about how sweaty his hand suddenly was, or what the hell they were going to talk about afterwards when they went for coffee. 

(In the end, they talked about schoolwork, and what they wanted to do after graduation, and it wasn't nearly as awkward as Yosuke had anticipated.)

Yukiko was pretty cool to date. She took the whole _girlfriend_ thing actually seriously; they went out on regular dates and he didn't push his luck by expecting her to kiss him, and, in return, she hooked her arm through his when they walked to school together and bought him food that he could mostly pretend was edible. And she thought he was _funny_ \-- her sense of humour was unpredictable but usually the goofier the joke the more she appreciated it, so he tried to aim his jokes correctly and it mostly worked. She seemed happy to be dating him, to his surprise.

What was annoying was _other_ people's reactions. The old investigation team, well, they mostly came around to the idea soon enough. They knew Yukiko; she was quirky, an odd mix of extremely traditional Japanese femininity and goofball eccentricity. For her to decide to date Yosuke might seem _strange_ , but no more so than a lot of her decisions. But to most of the school, Yukiko was, well, she was still The Amagi Challenge. It took a while Yosuke to realise that as far as most people were concerned, Yosuke must have done something _amazing_ to land a date with Amagi Yukiko.

(He kind of revelled in it for a little while. Hell yeah, his girlfriend was objectively gorgeous and people should envy him. And then he got annoyed by it -- there was a hint of insulting _surprise_ that someone like him could get a girl like her -- and then he got used to it.)

The _other_ public reaction was, he guessed, based on the wide perception of Yukiko as The Face of Traditional Inaba, where Yosuke -- to them -- was That Junes Boy. Once Junes had started stocking more local crafts and products, they'd risen in residents' estimation, but still: the general reaction was that Junes was the New Evil Empire. Yosuke got a fair amount of glares for _daring_ to touch their precious ryokan manager-in-training. Glares weren't something he was unused to, though. He put up with it.

They were 'together' for about six months, during which time they kissed a total of maybe four or five times, depending on how you counted. Yosuke wondered if this was what dating was actually supposed to be like; he really _liked_ Yukiko, she was beautiful and she liked him and… there just never seemed to be much urgency to things with her, nothing that made him want to risk annoying her by kissing her unexpectedly or touching her anywhere that wasn't definitely okay. He respected her ability to slap him absurdly hard, and honestly that she was willing to be publicly identified as _his girlfriend_ felt like more than enough of a miracle to him.

In the end, they didn't even really break up properly; they just had a conversation about how they saw their futures, and both of them admitted they didn't see themselves marrying each other, and then over the next week they just kind of… gave up on being a couple, and their friends gradually realised they'd broken up. It was a little weird at first -- like, Chie kept trying to arrange things so that they wouldn't be forced to both hang out with her at the same time -- but after another month or so, everything settled back down again.

Yu seemed weirdly disappointed that it hadn't worked out, like it was some kind of personal insult to him that two of his friends could try dating each other but _not_ fall madly in love. Yosuke had tried, as best he could, to explain that he and Yukiko hadn't exactly been some grand romance, but it had been nice, and he didn't regret it.

About two months later, Rise asked Yosuke out. It was completely a staged fake thing -- she needed someone to go to an event with her, and her manager wanted it to be someone from her school so there'd be a bit of a scandal about her maybe having a boyfriend. Fake or not, Yosuke got to have Risette kiss him on the cheek in public, and there were some photos that made it onto the internet so for a while he was That Guy At School That Dated Both Amagi And Kujikawa. He was flattered by the whole thing; it made him look like quite the stud, and he enjoyed the envious questions while carefully not _quite_ saying that he and Risette had actually dated.

Yu, when he called Yosuke after seeing the pictures, tartly asked if Yosuke was planning on dating Chie or Naoto next.

He seemed kind of personally offended again that it wasn't for real; Yosuke couldn't really work out why. Yosuke'd always said how hot he thought Rise was, but he'd never _actually_ really said he wanted to date her. She'd always been too into Yu, for one thing. So what if they'd faked a date for the cameras? It wasn't like either of them were taken.

Yu came to visit for Christmas; he'd been back a few times that year, eager enough to spend time with his old friends that a cynical and mean part of Yosuke's brain had wondered if maybe he wasn't fitting in so well back in the city. Maybe his parents were ignoring him again. Maybe his new schoolmates thought he was a dork instead of the coolest guy in town. Yosuke firmly ignored the thoughts, anyway; it was still awesome to have Yu around and he didn't really care _why_ as long as Yu was happy to be there.

It wound up being the two of them, on December 22nd, sprawled out flat on the floor cushions in Yu's now-slightly-spartan room, watching seasonally-themed game shows on his tiny TV.

Yu's phone beeped, for about the fourth time that evening.

"Ugh. My parents, again."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Yu sighed, and stretched. "They got it into their heads that I keep coming up here to see a girlfriend, so they keep asking these questions so I'll tell them who it is, and then they can check to make sure she's _suitable_."

Yosuke winced. "Ouch. Guess they won't take 'there isn't one' as an answer."

"Not yet." Yu gave him a sideways look, and then sat up, propping one elbow on the cushion under him. "I don't know if I've ever actually said, but, well, there _won't_ be a girlfriend ever."

Huh? "Uh, dude--"

"I'm gay."

"Oh." Yosuke stared at Yu -- Narukami Yu, magnet to all womankind, in Inaba at least -- and frowned. " _Really?_ "

"I'm fairly certain, yes, thank you."

"Oh." Yosuke turned the thought over in his head. "Wow. I should back off on the gay jokes a bit, huh."

"That'd be appreciated, yes, and probably not just by me," Yu said, with a momentary scowl. "Are you okay with it, though?"

Yosuke sat up. "Dude. You must have known for a while, so it's not like this is a new development, right? It's gonna take a while to sink in, but it doesn't change anything. We're cool. Just, y'know, don't molest me in my sleep."

"Yeah, well, I've resisted the urge consistently for the past year and a half, so I think you're safe."

Yosuke grinned, and then lay back down. "I guess you can't just tell your parents you prefer guys, huh."

"Oh, I tried. It didn't go well. I think that's why they're so hung up on the idea of there being a girl here." Yu slumped down onto the cushions. "I thought about just pretending, to make them happy, but it -- just, _no_. They need to accept it."

"Mm. I guess."

Yu gave him a sly look. "I've been tempted to tell them I have a _boyfriend_ , actually."

"Ha." Yosuke was about to say that it'd serve them right for asking, but then Yu's expression registered. "Dude, no. No. I am _not_ being your fake boyfriend."

"Why not? It'd only be for my parents. And they'll be more likely to believe me if there's someone they've heard of before -- I showed them pictures of everyone in Inaba. C'mon."

"No."

Yu's expression turned forlorn. "You'll fake being _Rise's_ date but you won't do it for me? I thought I was your _best_ friend."

"Don't do that." Yosuke grabbed a cushion from the sofa and threw it at Yu. It missed, and Yu burst into laughter. "Stop it."

Yu tried to pull his face back to looking sad, but he kept chuckling too much and ruining the effect.

"Why me, anyway? You could at least pick Kanji."

Yu sobered. "He might think it's a joke at his expense. Besides, my parents might call me once I text them. It won't look very convincing if I'm not with the guy I'm supposedly dating."

Yosuke threw an arm up over his head in defeat. "Fine."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Just don't tell _anyone_ here, y'hear?"

"Of course." Yu pulled out his phone, and then looked thoughtful for a moment before shimmying over onto Yosuke's cushion. "I'll send them a photo. Try to look infatuated by my good looks and charm."

Yosuke rolled his eyes, but let Yu press the sides of their heads together for the photo, and smiled in what he hoped would look like an adoring way to Yu's parents but which would look totally normal for everyone else.

"You look constipated," was Yu's verdict when he checked the resulting picture. "Alright, just smile or something."

The second attempt met with Yu's approval, thankfully, even if Yosuke thought he looked kind of goofy in it -- smiling too widely -- though Yu stared at it for a moment blankly after typing something (Yosuke didn't check) to accompany the message.

"You're seriously going to do this?" asked Yosuke, wondering if Yu was reconsidering. It was a bigger deal than Yu was making it sound, really: Yu might have _told_ his parents already, but saying 'here is my boyfriend!' was harder for them to ignore. They might freak out; they might tell Yu never to go home.

Yu sucked in a breath, through his teeth, and then gave Yosuke a weird, glassy smile. "Better I do it while I'm here than back there, right?" He pressed send, jamming his thumb down _hard_ on the button. "And… done. Um. I've really done it. Uh. They're going to freak out."

Yosuke put his arm around Yu, and hauled him in for a hug. "Hey. It'll be okay."

Yu didn't move for a second, and then he put his arms around Yosuke, buried his face in Yosuke's shoulder, and took a few suspiciously deep gulps of air. Yosuke rubbed his back in what he hoped was a soothing way, helpless to know what else he could do.

The phone rang downstairs. Yu tensed, but Dojima was home; Yu wouldn't have to go answer it. Yosuke pulled Yu tighter. "Shh. It's fine. It'll be fine, I promise."

Yu lifted his head after a few moments; he looked _awful_ , face red and eyes watering. "Sorry. I'll be okay. I don't know why I'm crying."

"Don't _apologise_ , partner, c'mon. I don't care." Yosuke squeezed Yu, who lowered his chin onto Yosuke's shoulder and let out a shaky breath that might have meant anything. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I minded, hmm?"

That forced a chuckle out of Yu, who pulled back slightly, straightening his back. "Thanks."

"What are friends for--"

Footsteps outside made Yosuke pause, and then the door opened. Yosuke realised his arms were still around Yu and yanked himself away hastily, scrambling to mute the TV. Dojima stared at them both for a moment, phone held to his ear.

"Yeah, sis. Uh. I'll call you back, okay? Yes. Look, let me handle this. Alright. Bye."

Yu took in a breath, and said, "Sir."

"You know what that was about, I assume," said Dojima, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm guessing my mother told you what I told her."

"Yeah." Dojima ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know where to start. Maybe with _'are you trying to give me a heart attack?'_

Yu wrapped his arms around his legs, hugging them to himself. "No, sir."

"Stop saying _sir_ , I'm not mad." Dojima looked around, and then stepped into the room and sank down onto the floor cushion Yu had vacated. "I just -- right. I wish you'd told me sooner. Why _didn't_ you tell me sooner?"

Yu relaxed slightly. "I thought my mother would be angry if she knew you knew. Isn't it better for you to be able to say you had no idea?"

"I'd rather be prepared." Dojima glanced at Yosuke. "What about you? Do your parents know?"

Yosuke blinked. Oh god. "No, sir."

"I'm not going to get a furious phone call from them later?"

"No, sir."

"Alright." Dojima looked at Yu again. "I don't mind. God knows, I've no space to judge anyone for how they conduct their personal lives. But breaking it to her like that--"

"I didn't." Yu frowned. "I've told her _before_ , told them both. They didn't believe me, kept asking if I had a girlfriend here. I couldn't think how else to make it sink in."

Dojima leaned back. "Aaaah. Well, that explains why she was so adamant that I _check_. God, this is a mess. She's angrier than I've ever heard her." He heaved a sigh. "Well. I'll talk to her, see if I can calm her down. Hanamura, don't make me regret doing this for you both."

Yu uncurled his arms. "Is it still alright for Yosuke to stay here tonight?"

Dojima scowled, and glared at Yu for a moment. Then he sighed. "Ah, you know what? You two have had enough sleepovers that I doubt I'd be making much difference now by saying no. But separate futons, please. I don't want your mother thinking I'm encouraging you."

"Thank you."

Yosuke felt he needed to say something. "Er, sir, it's not like -- er, with Nanako in the house, and all, we wouldn't do anything."

Dojima stared at him, eyes wide.

"Um. Just in case you were worried." Yosuke felt the blush creeping up his neck, and ignored it. "Not even kissing, honestly."

Dojima blinked, his expression passing into what _looked_ like mild amusement mixed with disbelief. "Well. Thank you for the consideration." He stood up. "I hope he's worth this hassle, Yu. I'll let you know what she says."

Yosuke watched the door close behind Dojima, and exhaled. "Wow. Your uncle is still terrifying. But at least I think he's on your side."

"Yeah," said Yu, quietly, and then he toppled against Yosuke's side as if exhausted. "I'm sorry. He thinks we're a couple."

Yosuke nodded. That was going to be weird, but he didn't think it was a good idea to tell Dojima that it wasn't true. "Enh, let's worry about that later. Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure yet." Yu scrubbed at his face with his hand. "He only talked about my mother. I wonder what my father's reaction is."

Yosuke put his arm around Yu, trying to be reassuring. He stared at the TV -- the quiz show had ended, but another one had started up -- and thought. "Worst case scenario is that they totally freak out, right? Dojima-san will let you stay here. School… you could re-enrol at Yasogami, but it'd be hard to catch up, I guess."

"No. Worst case scenario is that they try and put me in a psychiatric ward to cure my _problem_." Yu seemed to shrink under Yosuke's arm. "Some places still do that, if you pay them enough. I looked it up."

"Dojima-san wouldn't let that happen to you."

"Maybe." Yu shrugged, still looking lost. He seemed to gather himself, after a moment. "No, you're right. I should let him handle it for now."

They sat for a while, both watching the muted TV set and pretending they weren't both eavesdropping on what little they could hear of Dojima's conversation downstairs.

_"--not the--"_

_"--perfectly normal--"_

_"--overreaction--"_

_"--blaming me isn't really--"_

_"--wouldn't be a good idea--"_

Yu huddled himself smaller and smaller, while Yosuke tried not to dig his fingers into Yu's shoulder in annoyance. Yosuke thought about how _his_ parents would react -- they'd freak out, sure, but they'd come down on the side of reluctant acceptance, he thought. They'd probably _threaten_ to throw him out, but he was pretty sure it would be only a threat. He wouldn't be worried that he'd get sent to a damned _asylum_. Was Yu _serious_ about that?

Eventually Dojima trudged back up the stairs, and opened the door.

"Alright," he said. "She's calmed down a bit. First she wanted to yank you home right away, then to tell you not to go home at all, but now I think she's back to you going home on schedule."

"Alright." Yu was still pressed into Yosuke's side in an alarmingly dependent way, and he curled his fingers into Yosuke's shirt. "What did my father say, do you know?"

Dojima's frowned deepened. "She didn't say. I doubt it's good, though. I can't say your father's ever struck me as tolerant of things he doesn't understand."

Yu nodded, and unclenched his hand a little. "I agree. Sir, if I had to stay--"

"This room is always yours. I'd have to fudge it a bit guardianship-wise, but we'd manage."

"Thank you." Yu's hand unclenched further. "Really, that's a big relief."

Dojima nodded. "I'll leave you two to talk. Get some sleep, if you can. _Don't_ do anything you wouldn't want me to walk in on."

Yosuke frantically bobbed his head in agreement, while Yu just smiled faintly.

Dojima closed the door, and Yu flopped backwards onto the cushion. Yosuke did the same.

"Geez, partner. I didn't know being your boyfriend would be so stressful," he said, after a minute, trying to elicit another chuckle.

Yu's faint snort wasn't really even a chuckle, but it was a start. Yosuke thought for a moment, wanting to pull Yu's mind away from his parents.

"Hey, have you ever actually _had_ a boyfriend?"

Yu turned his head, and regarded Yosuke for a moment, as if weighing how he'd react before he answered. "I kissed a guy a few times. We weren't really dating, though."

"Oh."

"I liked him, it was just awkward timing." Yu bit at his lip. "And it was good; the kind of kisses where you just _know_."

Yosuke wasn't sure he did. "Know what?"

"That it's _right_. That it's better than kissing a girl ever was. It just felt… really right."

"Huh." Yosuke turned over his paltry collection of memories of kisses; much as he'd liked kissing Yukiko, he couldn't say it had ever felt especially _right_ the way Yu seemed to mean. He'd assumed that was lack of practise, but now Yu mentioned it, the first girl he'd ever kissed, back in the city, had felt… well, it had felt a lot more natural, he supposed. "Is that how you knew you were gay?"

"Sort of. But I knew already, really. It was more of a confirmation."

"Huh. Sorry it didn't work out with him, then."

Yu stared at him for a moment. "You really _are_ okay with this, aren't you?"

"I guess so? You're still you." Yosuke turned his attention to the ceiling, feeling awkward. "I know it shouldn't matter to me. So if I'm not okay with it, I'll _make_ myself okay with it."

**Author's Note:**

> (Expect very slow updates, sorry: this is very much a WIP.)


End file.
